The Reluctant Heroine
by I Hate To See Your Heart Break
Summary: When Avatar Geming died, he left behind a world in shambles. Much of the world blames him—and for good reason—but his followers and Geming himself tell his successor a completely different story. Ayumi is forced to find a way to piece together the truth about her past life while fixing the problems of a world that feels she cannot be trusted. Please read and review. [On Hiatus]
1. Episode 1: The Avatar is Found

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I wanted to let you all know that I plan this to be a multi-chapter fanfic full of adventure, danger, romance, suspense, and of course, bending. Although it is based on A:TLA and TLOK [insert disclaimer here], I will be including a lot of things into this world, seeing as Geming is the Avatar after Korra.

For anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the first chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 1: The Avatar is Found

* * *

"It is difficult to ascertain the correct decision to be made in this situation."

The older gentleman, a Grand Lotus and the Grand Master, sat around a Pai Sho table with the other Grand Lotuses, and on it sat a bloomed lotus bud with the lotus chip in the center. Another Grand Lotus, Mingzhi, spoke.

"I believe 'correct' is not the term being addressed here, Yang, but "beneficial". We've all seen what the Avatar is capable of."

"Avatar Geming," Grand Lotus Lian responded, "is but a stain in the long line of benevolent protectors of the Four Nations—"

"May I remind you," interjected Grand Lotus Chazui, "of the existence of the United Republic of Nations. I understand that many Fire Nation citizens such as yourself do not rejoice at its creation—"

"I do _not_," Lian snapped, "question the actions of Avatar Aang or its protector, Avatar Korra. You have taken my words out of context, as per usual, and I do not appreciate—"

"Grand Lotus Lian," Yang projected his voice over hers, "may I remind you that we are an organization of civil, patient citizens of this _world_. Grand Lotus Chazui, the world is at an uncertain geographical state. The United Republic of Nations—which is not one of the world's four _nations_, but one of five _sovereign states_—has been formally disbanded by its Fire Nation conquerors; although neither the Earth Kingdom nor the Water Tribes will officially recognize its territory as Fire Nation. Then there is, of course, the matter of the Geming Republic, known by some as the Metal Kingdom for its educational system's emphasis on metalbending and its advanced technological—"

"Which have ruined the environment in unspeakable ways, including the destruction of large portions of the Foggy Swamp's trees and the draining of the swamp for industrial and agricultural—"

"Grand Lotus Huanjing, I understand that as a member of the Air Nomads you are very environmentally friendly, and concerned about all that is happening around the globe," said Yang, "and we're all aware of it. The effects of the murder of the former chief of the Northern Water Tribe and the former president of the Geming Republic can still be felt, and—"

"If I may interject? Would it not be more politically correct to refer to this 'Geming Republic' as 'the rebels in the Southern Earth Kingdom'?" asked Grand Lotus Zhèngzhì.

"Questions of political correctness do not concern the Order of the White Lotus; at least, not in this case," responded Yang, "seeing as it could be debated all day. The Earth Kingdom has stated that the people, and not the provinces, of the South are in rebellion, and therefore no nation could possibly recognize it as a nation. Except the Fire Nation does, and is aiding them. The Fire Lord wishes to be seen as an aider of democracy, as did Avatar Geming himself when he single handedly wiped out the late Earth King's army."

"If I may, Grand Lotus Yang," Jízhōng interjected. "Allow me to return us to the subject of this meeting of the Grand Lotuses: the new Avatar. She or he has not yet been found. We believe they must be about sixteen by now, and if we don't find her soon, she could become corrupted through communication with their past life and—"

A White Lotus sentry rushed into the room, at first with an urgent and frightened look on his face. He stopped and looked around, immediately realizing the severity of having barged in on his highest superior. He fell to his knees, bowing, and being rambling off apologies.

"Stand up, man, and tell us what's so important that you had to rush in during our meeting!" demanded Lian.

The sentry quickly got to his feet and bowed once more before speaking. "The Avatar has been found in the Fire Nation. She is Fire Princess Ayumi, and repeatedly denied her avatarship, even when her father himself confirmed he had witnessed her earthbend. She got so angry when her father picked her up to force her to come with us that she entered the Avatar State."

"Was anyone hurt?" asked Huanjing.

"A sentry by the name of Mai Ling was seriously injured. I believe seeing her not move made her think she had killed her. That snapped her out of the Avatar state and she began to cry and sob profusely. The prince was the only one who could calm her long enough to allow her to see that Mai Ling was alive. She refuses to come with us, however."

Grand Lotus Lian stood. "The Avatar has finally been found. I apologize, everyone, but I am needed in my homeland."

"I will assist you," Yang said, standing also, "I wouldn't want to miss this."

The three exited the room, leaving the other Grand Lotuses in silence.

"Avatar Aang broke his connection with Avatar Roku. Let us hope Avatar Ayumi will do the same with Avatar Geming," Chazui said.


	2. Episode 2: The Self-Defense Mechanism

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I hope you've been enjoying my fic so far.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the second chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 2: The Self-Defense Mechanism

* * *

"Ayumi... you can earthbend?! I..."

She could still see it in her mind as freshly as if she were still living it. Every servant, guest, cousin, aunt, uncle, even her own mother, father and twin brother (after being pulled down by her father) bowed before her. Ayumi's father, Fire Lord Yang Zhu, was a member of the White Lotus, and so some of his security were White Lotus sentries. Other guests included the Fire Sages. The High Sage stood from his bow, and everyone else followed. His brown eyes looked into the golden eyes of a terrified Avatar. She had just gotten so annoyed by her younger cousins that a stomp of her foot sent a pillar of earth high into the air with a loud sound and a shake of the ground. The High Sage remained silent in awe and stunned beyond belief. He dusted off his robes and stroked his white beard before continuing.

"How can this be? Princess Ayumi... you must have known you were the Avatar. Why didn't you-"

"Excellent question," her father had interjected. With his crown in his topknot, his side burns and goatee, his formal robes with three shoulder spikes, and powerful but youthful voice, Yang Zhu was a Fire Lord at his prime. And an angry one, now, "Why have I not known of this, daughter?"

His formal way of speaking just added to Ayumi's fear. She didn't want to be the Avatar. 'At least half the world hates me, and it's all my past life's fault! The world's problems... I don't want them to be mine!'

The group of White Lotus members ran over to her but stopped behind the Fire Lord. All except one, sentry Mei Ling. She had been Ayumi's personal body guard, with her at all times, every day. She was brave-or stupid-enough to walk fast Ayumi's father as tears began to form in the young Avatar's eyes. Shaozu put a hand on his twin sister's shoulder, and she jumped and turned to face him, arms up and in position to attack. The prince raised his arms to show he meant no harm, and the jumpy girl lowered her arms, keeping them at her side as fists. Ayumi stared into his golden eyes, matching hers. He wore his best robes as well, though his short, topknotless hair couldn't support the headpiece of the Crowned Prince.

"Ayumi, we just want to help you. You're the Avatar; you need to go with the White Lotus to begin your training."

"I know it's kind of a bummer-the whole 'no more worldly possessions' thing," Ayumi turned around to face Mei Ling as she spoke. She wore an indigo-colored outfit with white details, a similarly colored cape and a Lotus patterned mantle around the shoulders, as well as a cowl with a small insignia on the front. Her green eyes were a sharp contrast. "But you'll still have me. Wherever you go, I'll go: that's a promise."

Ayumi looked into her father's smoldering eyes, and back towards her brother. She felt a single tear run down her cheek, soon to be followed by more.

'Shaozu... my whole family... my life at the palace... all to be hated by the world that expects me to solve all it's problems...'

She felt a strong, firm hand on her wrist with a painful grip.

"I cannot condone this kind of disobedience and secrecy from my own daughter. You will go with the White Lotus, now, even if I must pick you up and carry you away myself! And Mei Ling, you work for me; you are under contract, and I will not have you leaving my palace! Now, Ayumi-"

He stepped back and pulled, and his daughter turned around to face him with eyes glowing white.

"No."

It was the voice of every Avatar who had ever lived. Shaozu and every other person beside Yang Zhu and Mei Ling took off running and screaming for their lives. Fear crossed the Fire Lord's eyes before his anger resurfaced.

"Ayumi, I-"

His daughter broke his grip with ease, and he barely had time to jump out of the way as she used jet propulsion to shoot high into the air. The fire began to swirl around her feet and extend all the way to the ground, a tornado of fire surrounding her. Yang Zhu glared at his daughter one last time before running out of the courtyard.

Mei Ling took one look at the infuriated face of the Avatar, and all she saw was the pain she had seen a few moments ago. A column of rock lifted Mei Ling up until she was level with Ayumi, fearlessly close to the fire, confident that Ayumi would not hurt her.

Suddenly the fire was gone and Ayumi fell to the earth at an amazing speed. The young Avatar slammed down on the ground, sending a wave of earth in every direction. Everyone had evacuated the courtyard, and so the only one hurt was Mei Ling as the wave toppled her column of earth and sent her falling. Her body fell with a loud thud, the only sound to be heard, and the glow of the Avatar state faded away.

Ayumi fell to her knees and looked up, her head spinning and her eyes straining to refocus. Every tree, every structure, every piece of furniture, the pond... and a few yards in front of her, Mei Ling... all broken. Ayumi tried to stand up so she could run away, but she found herself falling on her butt, her legs kicking and her arms struggling to push her away. She couldn't remember what had happened, but she was sure she was the cause of the destruction.

Her father, her brother, and some White Lotus sentries rushed into the courtyard, leaping over pieces of wood, stone and fallen trees. Another female sentry bent the water that had spilled out of the pond and a male sentry helped her clean the water with his earthbending. Ayumi's eyesight blurred. She hadn't realized she was crying until then.

Ayumi's eyes filled with tears again as she remembered the agonizing pain.

'I... killed...'

Ayumi fell on her side onto the ground, her arms encircling her legs and she tucked her knees in and hugged them, hiding her face in them. She couldn't remember how long 'I killed her' echoed in her head, and a short vision of a man in green robes staring at a woman in blue robes appeared in her mine, the man saying the same thing.

A pair of hands shook her and her head shot up. She expected to see Mei Ling several yards away, sitting up, and hear her brother shout, "She's alive! She's alive!" Instead, her eyes locked with green ones. She was in her room. Remembering of the events that had occurred the day before had seemed to somehow turned into reliving it completely.

Mei Ling stepped back and Ayumi saw both her arm in a sling and a woman in a similar uniform to Mei Ling's, except without the headpiece, with indigo-colored armor and a robe under all of the other pieces, based off the white lotus flower. She was clearly of a higher rank, and so was the old man who stood behind her. Ayumi caught a glimpse of his hand on his sword hilt. A nonbender, she guessed.

"Avatar and Princess Ayumi," began the woman. Her golden eyes told Ayumi she was from the Fire Nation, "I am Grand Lotus Lian, and behind me stands Grand Lotus and Grand Master Yang," His brown eyes were harder to read, "The Order of the White Lotus has protected the Avatar and aided in his or her training since Avatar Aang assigned the organization to the task."

Lian paused, her eyes boring into Ayumi's as if she were trying to bend lasers out of her eyes.

"We are here," Yang spoke, and Lian moved aside so he could step forward, "because it is our duty to help you. You are already a master firebender, but you must head to the Earth Kingdom to begin your training with Grand Lotus Zhèngzhì."

"I don't want to."

Lian was surprised to hear that in person, now that Ayumi was in front of the Grand Master himself.

"And why ever not?" he asked.

Ayumi considered simply no answering. She only spoke compulsively, and now she felt she owed him an explanation. Not a full one, but something. She looked over at Mei Ling, who was staring down at her broken arm.

"I don't want to be separated from my brother, the rest of my family... my birthday's three days away!"

"That is why the Fire Sages did not yet know you were the Avatar. The day before-"

"Can I finish?!"

Lian and Mei Lings' gazes snapped to Ayumi in shock at hearing her interrupt Yang in such a manner. He simply frowned and nodded.

"Um, thanks," Ayumi said, surprised he was being so nice, "I don't wanna leave my home, and... I don't wanna leave Ling behind."

Ayumi, her cheeks red, glanced over to see a similar blush on Mei Ling's face.

"I'm so sorry."

Ayumi wasn't expecting her throat to close up and her eyes to water so quickly, but her words came out as a barely audible whisper, and she had to swallow hard and wipe her arm across her face. She looked up and forward at her mirror and saw she was wearing only a short sleeved red vest with gold trimming and two gold lines closely running down the middle, as well as ringlets around her upper arms, and black pants. A pony tail held her three-pronged headpiece in the traditional flame shape.

'His headpiece was the only thing Avatar Roku was permitted to take with him...'

Yang looked down for a second and made a split-second decision before looking back up. Described to him had been a powerful and dangerous being. Before him sat a sad and hurt teenaged girl.

"You may pack a single suitcase. Prince Shaozu and sentry Mei Ling may accompany you only if they agree to not interfere with your training."

Ayumi's spirits soared in that moment.

"You must also agree to cooperate. Your duty is to the world first, avatar. Never forget this."

Lian couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she wouldn't argue now, not in front of the Avatar herself, and a sentry. She simply left the room. Yang turned as she was leaving and exited with her. Ayumi hadn't noticed until then that his hand had left his sword's hilt.


	3. Episode 3: No Earthly Possessions

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I guess this should serve as a formal warning that this fanfic is lesbian, male gay, transgender, queer, asexual, gender fluid, gender nonconforming, and all-other-kinds-of-stuff-like-that friendly. As such, characters who identify that way or choose not to identify as anything will definitely be present.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the third chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 3: No Earthly Possessions

* * *

Mei Ling stood and Ayumi sat for almost a full minute—which felt more like an hour—before the silence was broken.

"Can I sit with you?"

Ayumi nodded, still studying the rug. Dark red, of the finest quality, just like everything else in her home. Except she probably wouldn't see it again for years.

"You know," Ayumi's shoulders jumped slightly as Mei Ling broke the silence again, "Avatar Korra did most of her training in a compound in her native Southern Water Tribe. She moved to Republic City because Tenzin, her airbending instructor, had to fulfill his duties there. It was with Avatar Geming that traveling the world became a requirement again. Avatar Korra's ignorance of the world outside her home made her ignorant to the world and it's problems."

Ayumi nodded. She didn't want to express her selfish thoughts to Mei Ling. She wanted the earth bender to think better of her.

_'Even if it's not true.'_

"Do you want me to help you pack?"

Ayumi looked up at Mei Ling. Her brown hair was in a high pony tail, and her bouncy bangs were swept to the sides of her faces, framing it beautifully. Her green eyes sparkled with the energy and good will that were ever present. Her smile was trying to illicit one from Ayumi, and the young princess complied, praying to Agni that she wasn't blushing.

"Actually, I thought it might be a good idea to... well... "

Ayumi bit her lip, and Mei Ling gave her a confused look.

"I was thinking it would be better if I filled the suitcase with money."

Mei Ling frowned. "I dunno if that's such a good idea."

"I can buy anything I'll need the whole trip. Just need some high enough bills. It might even end up helping us in our missions."

"Our missions?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't include you. It's probably something I need to do alone, but... I need to sneak out once I feel I've gotten good enough at earthbending. Cross the border into the Geming Republic and sort everything—"

"No way I'm letting you do that; it's a terrible idea. Even if you mastered Fire and Earth, how would you solve the problems of two nations... I mean... how would you do it with just those two? Do you really think you would be strong enough?"

Ayumi had considered this. She remembered learning that when the Fire Nation attacked the Northern Water Tribe, Avatar Aang defeated the whole fleet of ships and all the soldiers alone. He had the help of the Ocean spirit of course...

"And what about the Avatar state," Ayumi visibly cringed at the mention, "Don't blame yourself for that, by the way. But as I was saying, if you don't master it, you could end up wiping out a bunch of people. Avatar Geming never mastered it, remember?"

"You sure know a lot about my past lives," Ayumi remarked sadly.

"It's part of the training," Mei Ling said, pointing up at the insignia on her cowl.

Ayumi got to her feet. "I still think I should fill my suitcase with money. 'No earthly possessions' is already being thrown out the window, so why not go all the way? I think it's necessary and gonna turn out being a good decision."

"What if they search your stuff? They searched my stuff."

"Hmmm... Maybe I should pack some clothes on top of the bills. See if I can convince Shaozu to do the same. It's my only hope for this plan... Oh wait."

Ayumi moved to stand directly in front of Mei Ling.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. It could even end up endangering your life. Plus, my dad said he wanted you to stay he—"

Mei Ling stood up and hugged Ayumi tightly. When she spoke, Ayumi could hear the tears in her voice.

"It was scary to see you in the Avatar state again," Ayumi's arms were locked in place by Mei Ling's, but she used her right hand to pat her on the back, "but I'm not saying I want you to go."

The only person that had known Ayumi was the Avatar was Mei Ling. They had been alone in her room when Geming appeared for the first time and Mei Ling insisted she didn't see anyone. She listened the conversation the Avatar had with her past life—or, the side of it she could hear—and agreed to keep it a secret after much pleading from the younger girl. Ayumi hadn't said much, but it seemed to Mei Ling that Geming had been trying to explain and defend his actions when still alive.

Mei Ling witnessed Ayumi enter the Avatar state while they were at the beach last summer. The girls had been the only ones still in the water when a huge wave swallowed them both and dragged them under. Mei Ling saw Ayumi floating downward a few yard away, and as her eyes slowly closed, she caught a glimpse of Ayumi's eyes suddenly opening and glowing. Mei Ling felt strong arms grab hold of her and felt herself suddenly rushing upwards until they broke the surface of the water.

A finger touched the base of her throat and moved up towards her chin, and she could feel the water she had swallowed working its way back up her throat. When the finger moved up to her chin, her eyes opened and she began to cough as the hand guided the water away from them. The glow in Ayumi's eyes faded, leaving two golden and concerned eyes pleading with her own, a worried voice asking if she was alright. Ayumi let go when she realized she had her right arm around Mei Ling and has been holding her very close.

Mei Ling let go of Ayumi and placed her hands on the princess's shoulders. Her eyes were watery but no tears fell. She was blinking them away. "I want to go with you. I want to help you, and I wanna be there for you. You're my... best friend."

Ayumi was sure she was blushing now; she looked like a ripe tomato, actually. But she couldn't help but grin happily.

"You don't want to stay with your family?"

"Nah. They'll be fine without me. And they know that as a White Lotus sentry, it's my job to stick with the Avatar. And... and I need to follow what my heart says."

Ayumi felt her face go flush as she tried to interpret the meaning of those words. In a nation full of tradition and following the status-quos to keep from shaming one's family... well, it was impossible to do so, she decided. Ayumi simply smiled and hugged her best friend.

"Thank you, Ling."

Mei Ling returned the hug briefly before pulling back and heading towards the door.

"Let's get packing. I'll tell Shaozu about your plan, so get moving."

Ayumi said her thanks and waved as Mei Ling closed the door, and flopped backwards onto her bed with a heavy sigh when her footsteps had faded.

After sneaking out of her room, out of the palace and to the bank, Ayumi returned with her suitcase filled. She grabbed a nice, formal robe and placed it over the bills. After adding a few toiletries, Ayumi closed the suitcase. As she heard the claps snap into place, she changed her mind and moved all the suitcase's contents into a backpack.

_'More travel convenient this way,'_ she thought.

She grabbed her cellphone and texted Shaozu, who complained about already having to do so much for her, but eventually did as she had. Mei Ling admitted she hadn't even begun to pack, having spent that whole time sitting on her bed and spacing out. Ayumi left her getting to packing.

The young Avatar sat on her bed and crossed her legs and concentrated briefly before opening her eyes. Before her sat Avatar Geming in his green robes. His brown beard was a bit wild but his smile and dark green eyes were kind and youthful. He adjusted his head dressing before speaking.

"Hello Ayumi. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, actually. I wanted to ask you about the republic you named after yourse–"

"They wanted to name it after me!"

"Whatever. None of my history books say anything about it."

"Because no one recognizes it as a nation or sovereign state."

"Why did you form it in the first place?"

"There were rumors that Earth King Song-chun planned to raise taxes for building projects, send his armies to conquer areas like Omashu that had independent kings and rulers, and murder many of his political enemies. As the Avatar, I promised I would protect them from the Earth King's armies. A bunch of powerful and influencial people proposed they start their own nation, separate from the Earth Kingdom. Many of the people in most of the southern Earth Kingdom rallied around me into separating and creating a new kingdom with a new king and a parliament to represent the common people's interests. They named this nation the Geming Kingdom, but hey, it was similar to the naming of Kyoshi Island. I didn't become king, though. I didn't want there to be kings, so I encourage them to create a completely new system of governing. I got my son on the throne so he could change everything; the people voted on a constitution and he became the first president. He even got a special Avatar tax in place and everything."

Ayumi raised an eyebrow at this, and he just shrugged and tried to hide a smile.

"Anyway, the Earth King was having none of it, so he sent his armies. I had to protect my people. Sadly, I... I hadn't mastered the Avatar state yet, so I ended up killing almost the entire army."

Ayumi gasped and Geming hung his head.

"This uprising led, indirectly, to another. The democratic ideals of these new people were spread to the Fire Nation."

This part, Ayumi knew.

"Although Fire Lord Zuko's decedents were peaceful rulers and most survivors of the Great War had died, old wounds were still open, and paranoia spread about the all-powerful monarchy that controlled the people. The loss of the colonies in the form of the United Republic of Nations also played a part. Many proud Fire Nation citizens resented the formation of Republic City, especially those who had been glad to be part of the councils under the governors. It was a real shame, because—"

"They rebelled too," Ayumi recalled, "calling upon you for help."

"I knew that if I refused, my image as an upholder of democracy would be questioned. Plus, with me leading them, no blood was shed this time. So I led the rebels from the Fire Nation to Republic City, where they overthrew the United Republic Council. I was unanimously voted governor, and I accepted, since it was only for three years. I was glad to return to the Geming Republic, and I expected to live out the rest of my life in relative piece. But then—"

He disappeared as Mei Ling opened the door, her green and yellow bag hanging down from one. Ayumi scrambled to her feet and Mei Ling gave her a suspicious look.

"I was just talking to Geming. He hasn't told me much that I don't already know, though."

Mei Ling simply nodded with a frown and looked at Ayumi's backback at the corner of her bed.

"You all set?"

Ayumi followed her line of vision and picked up her backpack upon seeing it, sliding both straps onto her shoulders.

"No more servants to carry your stuff for you, huh?"

Ayumi nodded sadly, and Mei Ling frowned sadly. She grabbed the princess's hand and pulled her out of the room and down the hall.

"Come on. Time to go on an adventure."


	4. Episode 4: A Lesson in History

**A/N:** Hello everyone. And a special hello to foofoocuddlypoops99, Endlessdreamerxoxo and A Wild Clover, my faithful followers. And Endlessdreamerxoxo, thank you for favorite-ing this story as well as I myself. Time to address the first ever review to this fanfic.

**A Wild Clover**: I understand that, though remember that technology always advances a lot after a war. Think World War II. And don't forget the advanced technology of the Fire Nation's military. But allow me to assure you that not all is modern in this fanfic. You'll understand more of that in a bit, but the first paragraph may give you a clue to that. And... well, you'll find out more about technology of this world and how welcome or unwelcome it is later. And don't worry, more about all three of our current main characters will be revealed as the fanfic is updated. Thank you for the praise, and *Spock hand* right back at-cha, sweetheart.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the third chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 4: A Lesson in History

* * *

Avatar Ayumi had never ridden a boat before, and it took everything in her to avoid getting sea sick. Unfortunately, only the capitals of the nations had airports. Fortunately, the ship left them very close to Gaoling, and Yang, Lian, Shaozu, Ayumi and Mei Ling made the rest of the trip by Satomobile. Gaoling lied in a valley surrounded by steep, rocky hillsides. The center of the village featured a bustling marketplace with ornately decorated buildings. The group stopped there to eat, and the trio successfully snuck away from the adults to buy some of the supplies the twins would need.

Yang explained that Grand Lotus Zhèngzhì's home had once been Master Yu's Earthbending Academy, and it stood as the best-known bending institution in the entire kingdom before Master Yu disappeared. Zhèngzhì's family inherited, and eventually Zhèngzhì himself moved there, believing it a suitable place to train the Avatar. The training area of the former academy was a roofless courtyard made of stone. The main building that served as the actual house was beyond that.

Zhèngzhì himself answered the door when Yang knocked. He had shaggy brown hair and a full beard and mustache. He sported a green tunic with dark green trimmings and light green sleeves, as well as light green pants and boxy beige boots, much like what any middle-class man would wear. This struck Ayumi as odd, since he had an air to him that suggested he was wealthy. The adults bowed to each other and when Zhèngzhì bowed to Ayumi, and it took her a second to realize she should bow back. As royalty, she was slightly unfamiliar with having to bow.

"Avatar Ayumi, it is an honor to meet you, and an honor to have the opportunity to train you in the art of earthbending. It also delights me sentry Mei Ling could join you. She will be a very helpful sparring partner—" Zhèngzhì began.

"Wait, I want Mei Ling to train alongside me."

Mei Ling looked at her friend in surprise, and Zhèngzhì frowned impatiently.

"Training the Avatar is different from training a common earthbender. I refuse—"

"Listen, I'm the Avatar here, right? And I don't see how Mei Ling can even spare with me safely if she isn't on the same page as me or higher. I wouldn't wanna hurt her, right? Plus, I know she wants and deserves this."

Ayumi looked over at Mei Ling and smiled, which Ling returned.

This put Zhèngzhì in a tough position. He needed to have conversations with her about Geming and her responsibilities as the Avatar, and he didn't want to have them in front of this sentry friend of Ayumi's. Yet he sensed something about them immediately and knew he couldn't separate them no matter how hard he might try.

"Alright," Zhèngzhì said with a heavy sigh, "as you wish. But remember: I am your sifu from this point on. You may not exercise any authority as the Avatar over me until you can defeat me in a sparring match."

"Deal," Ayumi said, reaching over and hugging Mei Ling. Ayumi was considerably short for an almost sixteen year old—only 5 feet tall—and so her head was at what Mei Ling called "boob level", which she was always aware of during hugs. Ayumi looked up and smile in childish glee, and Mei Ling couldn't help but smile back and think of how lucky she was to be her friend.

"Can someone please show me to our quarters and help me with all the bags in the Satomobile?" Shaozu asked, "I'd like to get settled in before dinner."

"As per my knowledge, Zhèngzhì prepared two rooms; one for you and one for the Avatar and the sentry," Lian replied, "Yang, please help us so we can be done quickly and move our belongings into our quarters as well."

The house didn't look like it had five bedroom from its length, but Ayumi guessed its width must compensate. She imagined an expansive garden area in the back, a few miles from a farm he might own. There could be fields of vegetables or orchids of fruits or lots of farm animals… Mei Ling bumped her shoulder against Ayumi's to snap her out of her daydreaming. Zhèngzhì was staring down at her.

"Sentry—"

"Mei Ling," Ayumi corrected him.

"—please change out of your uniform and into proper training attire, which one of my servants will be glad to give you. They were Master Yu's and are still in excellent shape."

Zhèngzhì removed his hands from behind his back, where he had been holding them, and handed Ayumi her uniform and hat.

"I had these prepared for you already. Go change, quickly."

Upon returning, Ayumi found Zhèngzhì sitting under a tree in the inside left corner of the courtyard, meditating. Ayumi sat before him, crossing her legs as he had, wondering where Mei Ling was. Zhèngzhì opened his eyes, and his intense expression cause Ayumi to jump slightly.

"Avatar, are you familiar with your past life?"

"I don't know many details of his life, but I know the general schoolbook—"

"No, Ayumi. I mean, have you spoken to him? Has he attempted to make contact with you?"

Ayumi was uncomfortable revealing this information. She felt like she couldn't, for some reason, and instead shook her head. Zhèngzhì nodded.

"Allow me to explain then," he said, hoping to finish before Mei Ling returned.

"Avatar Geming was born the first son of the 54th Earth King, on the same day as Avatar Korra's death. Five years later, his younger brother was born, Song-chun. On his sixteenth birthday, members of the White Lotus came to announce their search for the next Avatar would commence. For a long time, Avatar Geming's discovery that he was the Avatar was a secret only his brother knew. At the party, Song-chun accidentally let it slip that Geming was the Avatar, and Geming was not happy. He wanted to be king, after all."

Ayumi felt she knew a bit of what Geming felt. Ayumi was older than Shaozu by five minutes and the only bender of the two. She was supposed to be the Fire Lady, and yet she and everyone else knew she wouldn't be upon discovering she was the Avatar. To say "it's a tough pill to swallow" is a huge understatement.

"Avatar Geming mastered all four elements, and almost immediately after mastering the Avatar state, his father died and his younger brother inherited the throne. As he traveled to Ba Sing Se, intent on taking the throne from his brother by force if he had to, he made a sudden change and headed to Omashu instead. He decided he'd make his brother a hated ruler by the people, and they would beg him to become king. First, he spread rumors that Song-chun planned to raise taxes for building projects, send his armies to conquer areas like Omashu that had semi-independent kings and rulers, and murder many of his political enemies. As the Avatar, he promised he would protect them from the Earth King's armies."

This version of the story was already a huge deviation from what Geming told her, and was the beginning of her confusion. Geming had said nothing about starting those rumors, or being in line for the throne, or anything like that.

"The poor people of Omashu asked for a revolution against tyranny. The rich people just wanted lower taxes; being taxed by two kings was too much for them. Avatar Geming convinced the king of Omashu into becoming the first president of the Geming Republic, insuring him that it was only a title and he could retain all his power as long as he was smart about it. The people wanted Avatar Geming, but he had realized he didn't want power, just money. Avatar Geming promised to protect the kingdom against his brother's armies in exchange for a special Avatar tax. An army was indeed formed, but Avatar Geming's power dealt with the bulk of any attack, even though he had not mastered the Avatar State. He killed nearly every Earth Kingdom soldier."

Ayumi knew that last part. But the rest... Geming had said he had suggested democracy, and that the Avatar tax had been put in place by his son, the first president. Geming had said the uncontrollable Avatar state was to blame for those deaths, and Ayumi could sympathize with that a lot more.

"The Fire Nation wanted a piece of the Avatar. Many merchants knew they could make a lot more money if the former Fire Nation colonies returned to their old statuses. After talking to the Fire Lord and with another Avatar tax, Geming led a Fire Nation army into the Earth Kingdom, wiping out another Earth Kingdom army. The Fire Lord appointed Avatar Geming as governor for life and he accepted the job. He had already manipulated the Geming Republic, and the people considered him a god and treated him as such, creating statues of him, naming their children after him, and a day in celebration was established in his honor. It was Geming mania, and he ate it all up."

Geming had ended his explanation at the three-year term the people of the colonies wanted him to accept as governor. Ayumi decided to take whatever Zhèngzhì said with a grain of salt.

"Soon, another problem arose. The Northern and Southern Water Tribes couldn't agree on anything, it seemed. Inspirited by the Fire Nation's original idea of bringing all the people of the colonies back home, and of their fear for the safety of their sister tribe during this time of war, the Northern Water Tribe wanted the people of the Southern Water Tribe to return to the North Pole, frustrated by the great distance separating the two, and seeing their separation as a personal failure of the Northern Water Tribe's Chief, as did most of the world. Some members of the Southern Water Tribe readily agreed, packing their bags and moving to the more advanced city immediately. Others, unconvinced that their sister tribe's sexist traditions were really changing, as change was slow and gradual, did not want to move. More importantly, most of the people loved their home, and did not want to have to start a new life in an essentially strange land. When a meeting between the two chiefs was held in the Southern Water Tribe, a mystery assassin murdered the Northern Chief. Today, it is widely believe that Avatar Geming, who was known to be present, murdered him for supporting the Earth Kingdom."

Cold-blood murder didn't sound like the Geming she knew. She had been speaking to him since the first time she had entered the Avatar state. He was sweet and had a good sense of humor.

"Devastated by his death, the Northern Water Tribe declared war on the Southern Water Tribe. The same day, the president of the Geming Republic was murdered, and its people believe the Earth Kingdom was behind the death."

At least Geming wasn't being blamed for that. He wouldn't murder his own son: Ayumi was sure of this.

"Others believe Avatar Geming himself murdered the president, as he may have decided he wanted the title himself after all, perhaps invade the Earth Kingdom and regain his throne."

_'They always assume the worst of him,'_ Ayumi thought, trying not to let her thoughts show on her face.

"It was then that the members of the Foggy Swamp were discovered. The industrialization of the world was being pushed further and further, and so the Geming Republic began cutting the Foggy Swamp's trees and draining the swamp. Its people began to attack those clearing their land, and Avatar Geming found himself involved in three conflicts: the Earth Kingdom attacking the Geming Republic, the war between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, and the question of whether the Foggy Swamp was under the president's jurisdiction to simply destroy. At age 30, before he could get too involved in solving the world's problems, two of which he had caused and one he failed to avoid, he disappeared mysteriously. Many believed he was murdered by the same person or group of people who murdered the president and the chief of the Northern Water Tribe. I am among those who believe he committed suicide, too overwhelmed by the daunting task of fixing his mistakes, or more likely unwilling to do so."

Ayumi couldn't believe what she had heard about Geming, but she did know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the world's problems.

"You must understand three things, avatar: you cannot leave the world in the state that it is in; the leaders of every nation want you on their side; and you must learn from Avatar Geming's mistakes and be a selfless servant of peace to the world."

_'Happy Almost Birthday, Ayumi. Now go save the world that hates you for your past life's mistakes.'_

Mei Ling ran up to the two, bowing at Zhèngzhì before sitting down.

"I apologize, Master."

Ayumi was hoping for an explanation, and then realized Ling guessed Zhèngzhì would see it more as an excuse.

"It is your first day, so I will not punish you. Now, let us begin the training."


	5. Episode 5: The Blooming Lotus Flower

**A/N:** Hello everyone.

**A Wild Clover**: I apologize, and went back and fixed it as soon as I read that review. It was difficult, deciding how Zhèngzhì would begin training Ayumi and Mei Ling. And, well, this is what happened.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the third chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 5: The Blooming Lotus Flower

* * *

"How would you describe yourself, Ayumi?"

The young Avatar raised an eyebrow in confusion. This was earthbending training?

"Um… why do you ask?"

"Because I am your teacher. When I ask you a question, you give me an answer."

'_Fair enough.' _Ayumi thought snickering, quieting when Mei Ling shot her a look.

"Well… wait, do you mean, like… Um… do you want to know about my past or just my personality or…"

"Answer the question however you understood it."

Ayumi frowned. He wasn't talking straight. She looked over at Mei Ling, who seemed to be thinking hard.

"I think that's a sufficient answer. Ayumi, how would you respond?"

Mei Ling looked up in surprise an Ayumi tried not to laugh.

"Mmm… I think I'm a pretty fun girl. And I'll admit I like having things my way. I'm a hard worker, 'cause I love the satisfaction from a job well done. Praise isn't unwelcome either. I… am a master firebender. Passed my test with flying colors. I can even bend a bit of lightning, and I can redirect it."

"I see. Would you say you… are a go-getter?"

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

"Aggressive?"

"My firebending can be described that way, I guess."

Zhèngzhì stood up and walked to the middle of the courtyard. His students stood up and turned around to look at him.

"Ayumi, I want you to attack me with some firebending."

Mei Ling was about to ask why, but Ayumi just started running. She punched the air repeatedly, sending half a dozen fire balls at Zhèngzhì. He moved aside each time and dodged each one, ending up in the same place he had started. Ayumi nearly ran into him, and he moved his arms up, creating a wall that Ayumi hit full-force. She yelped and fell back, landing hard on her butt. Zhèngzhì lowered the wall.

"Have you ever fought with anyone other kind of bender?"

"No," Ayumi admitted as she stood up.

Zhèngzhì nodded and look a few steps back.

"This time, I'm going to attack first."

Ayumi nodded, getting into a fighting stance. She was ready, but Zhèngzhì didn't move. He just stared at Ayumi, watching as her determined face slowly gave way to more and more confusion, her body slowly slipping out of her stance. Suddenly, Ayumi shot straight up on a piece of rock, and another rock hit her in the chest and she flew back, hitting the wall. Mei Ling was starting to question his teaching methods.

"Ayumi, did that surprise you?"

"Yes, it did," she said, a bit of anger evident in her voice as she stood up, stretched, and dusted herself off.

"Now, come and stand where you were again."

Ayumi did as she commanded. Zhèngzhì leaned over a bit so he could see Mei Lin.

"Count backwards from three, then yell, 'Begin.' Right now."

"Oh, um… three… two… one… fight."

Ayumi brought her arm beside her, hand in a fist, and moved her arm forward, sending a wave of fire towards Zhèngzhì. He moved aside and made similar movements, sending a wave of earth at her. Ayumi leaps over it, landing with her knees bent, and as she stands, she sends a kick, then another kick, then two punches before running towards Zhèngzhì. He lifts up four rocks, which are hit and scorched by the fire, turning into pebbles, which quickly encircle his hand to form a glove. Ayumi stops suddenly in front of Zhèngzhì, who stares at her for a while. Ayumi punches towards his chest, and Zhèngzhì grabs her arm with his gloved hand, moving her aside and off balance and down to the ground. Ayumi landed on her hands and swept her leg to catch Zhèngzhì's. He jumped up and behind Ayumi, lifting a large boulder and sending it at Ayumi as she stood up and turned around. The boulder sent her at the wall again, the boulder slowly falling to reveal Ayumi, who fell forward, her arms protecting her face.

Mei Ling ran over to Ayumi, kneeling next to Ayumi. She rolled the Avatar over, who groaned and moved a hand to protect her eyes form the sun. Mei Ling looked up at Zhèngzhì, anger blazing in her eyes.

"What's the point of this?! All you're doing is hurting her!"

"I'm teaching her. The point of this was to highlight Ayumi's fighting style, and see if she could tell why she wasn't hitting me."

Ayumi slowly sat up.

"I… I don't know," she admitted.

"Mei Ling, would you like to try?"

"No way. I'm tired of this, and I'm not letting Ayumi go through any more of this. Come on."

Mei Ling grabbed Ayumi's left hand with her own and put her right hand on Ayui's back, helping her stand up.

"No, Mei Ling. He's the teacher. We need to do as he says."

"And let him continue using you as a punching bag?!"

"Just let him speak. There had to be a point to this," Ayumi looked over at him, trying not to glare, "So what is it?"

"Have you ever heard of jing?"

Ayumi sat down, Mei Ling following her down, never letting go over her hold on the Avatar.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, there are eighty-five distinct types or 'degrees' of jing, although only the main three will be used in this lesson for simplicity's sake."

Zhèngzhì walked over, and Ayumi felt Mei Lin tense up, as if she was ready to get up and run with Ayumi at any moment. He sat down in front of the girls and continued.

"There is positive jing: advancing or attacking; negative jing: retreating or evading; and neutral jing: waiting and listening. All three can be used in any bending art, but positive jing is the main one used in firebending, including in Ayumi's fighting style."

Ayumi nodded, remembering when Zhèngzhì asked if she was aggressive.

"Aggressive tactics are utilized by firebenders during combat almost exclusively. Firebenders typically prefer preemptive strikes: to attack first, before their opponent can. They come at their opponents with full force and overwhelming sheer power. These positive jing attributes are also found in the attitudes that are common amongst the determined and energetic people of the Fire Nation."

"Then, there are the airbenders. Negative jing is what they mostly exercise, reflecting the Air Nomads' pacifistic lifestyle and their philosophy. They asserted that fighting is only to be used as a last resort when conflict cannot be avoided. Airbenders are more mobile fighters compared to earthbenders and possess a highly dynamic fighting style. 'Avoid and evade' is a typical airbender tactic."

Mei Lin looked back and forth between Ayumi and Zhèngzhì, watching how Ayumi tried to keep her anger in bay as Zhèngzhì explained. She seemed to be listening carefully, however.

"In the case of waterbending, they follow, and learned bending from, the moon and the ocean's example of "push and pull". As such, waterbenders will alternate between and maintain a balance of both positive and negative jing in combat, allowing them to turn defense into offense as they use their opponent's force against them while conserving their own."

Ayumi nodded, looking like she wanted to say something but remaining silent.

"Neutral jing is the key to earthbending, avatar. It involves listening, seemingly doing nothing, and waiting for the right moment to strike. You must be more stationary than an airbender, usually waiting for their opponent to come to you, while standing your ground and meeting their opponents' attacks head-on, before delivering a deadly strike of your own. Neutral jing forms the basis of true earthbending. But that's not all. It would be all for, say, Mei Ling here—"

Mei Ling felt Ayumi squeeze her hand tightly in frustration, and Ling tried not to make a sound.

"—as an earth bender. As a person training under the Order of the White Lotus, however, she knows a bit about this. It is the basis of the philosophy of the Order. And this is it: it is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole. Your knowledge will never bloom if you draw it from only one place. A lotus flower needs sunlight, water, soil, nutrients; it knows."

"Grand Master Iroh expounded on this point, and so has every Grand Master after him, including Yang. It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make anyone more powerful. Iroh learned to redirect lightning by studying the waterbenders, and Ayumi, you said you knew a bit about this technique. How about you demonstrate what you have been taught?"

Ayumi looked at Mei Lin and smiled before letting go of her hand and standing up. Mei Ling bit her lip in worry but allowed her to stand without complaint. She remembered what she had been made to memorize in her textbooks.

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips," Ayumi began to demonstrate, going through the motions, "up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly."

Ayumi repeated the movements several times before sitting back down next to Mei Ling.

"Very good, Ayumi. But before you sit down, can you create some lightning?"

Ayumi stood back up and ran to the middle of the courtyard, making sure she had plenty of room and wouldn't be hitting anyone. She took a deep breath, trying to achieve a complete absence of emotion and peace of mind. She began making circular motions with her hands, moving around slowly for a good amount of time. The air around her began to thicken, and lightning followed her fingertips. A circle of lightning, with lightning radiating out, was created around her right hand, and she shot her arm forward at the sky, a bolt of lightning pouring out of her fingertips and disappearing into the sky.

Mei Ling closed her eyes tightly, not opening them until she was sure Ayumi was finished.

"Excellent. Could you imagine using a similar form while firebending? Waterbending? Earthbending? Airbending?"

Ayumi walked over and thought as she did before sitting down and responding.

"Airbending, I guess. The circular motions. I guess it would be good for making some strong fire, too. For earth… yeah, I could see that. Pillars shooting up all around me, maybe. And waterbending… mmm, if I was in the middle of an ocean, maybe. To slice stuff up."

"As the Avatar, you must remember that you are not just learning four separate bending arts with their own separate bending forms and rules and tips. Your power comes from drawing knowledge from all four elements and nations."

Ayumi nodded, and Zhèngzhì cracked a small smile.

"Time to see how much earth you two can bend without my instruction."


	6. Episode 6: Fire Gummies and Warm Milk

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I wanted to let you all know that I plan this to be a multi-chapter fanfic full of adventure, danger, romance, suspense, and of course, bending. Although it is based on A:TLA and TLOK [insert disclaimer here], I will be including a lot of things into this world, seeing as Geming is the Avatar after Korra, and so a lot of time has passed.

**A Wild Clover**: Thank you. It's always a challenge to write fight scenes, so it's great to hear you like the way everything turned out. And I hope you enjoy this chapter, which explores a lot more about Shaozu and how he feels about everything that's happened.

For anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming; he's hard to describe. If anyone can help me with the names of the various kinds of clothes he's wearing, especially his hat, that would be great. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the sixth chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 6: Fire Gummies and Warm Milk

* * *

Shaozu sighed, staring up at the ceiling and feeling bad for himself.

When Shaozu came into the world, his father was the first of his parents to hold him. His mother's arms were busy holding Ayumi, who had come into the world five minutes earlier. He eagerly called Lotus member Yang into the hospital room, who entered followed by Lotus member Jízhōng. She had trouble reading how powerful the twins would be within their mother's stomach because they were in her womb together, but now she could clearly sense it. She pronounced Ayumi a very powerful bender, and although the Fire Lord was sure his son would be the same, he wanted to be sure.

Jízhōng placed her hand over the small boy, and she tried not to let her frown show too much. The Fire Lord noticed anyway.

"What is it?" he asked, fearing the worst. Fearing something that was unknown of anyone born into the Royal Family.

"Zhang Yu," Yang quickly interjected, "We both know what this means. I urge you to not allow fear or shame to consume you."

It was impossible to voice his concern to his long friend, a non-bender himself. But when he looked down at the small boy, he reconsidered his decision. Ayumi had been born first, but he intended to crown his son anyway. History spoke of only one female Fire Lord, and she had taken over when her husband had died and her children were too young to rule. She had done a fine job, but he wouldn't be the first Fire Lord to crown a second-born due to gender. And the only other woman, one who had almost become Fire Lord, Princess Azula… well, he didn't want to dwell on the stains of the family.

And yet… he was a non-bender. Never had a non-bender sat on the throne. Never had one been born to the Royal Family! It was unheard of… but what was he to do? Crown his non-bender son, or his firebending daughter?

He wiped the sadness from his face as everyone in the room awaited the proclamation of names—which always came with titles as well.

He raised the small boy above his head.

"Hail… Prince Shaozu."

All present got down on their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground. His wife bowed her head slightly before returning her attention to her daughter. The Fire Lord handed his son over to the Fire Lady and raised Ayumi over his head.

"Hail… Crowned Princess Ayumi."

Yang bowed, but he wasn't happy. He knew his friend was simply choosing what he felt to be the lesser shame, and although he tried to avoid taking it personally, it was difficult. Not to mention his "tradition" was steeped in sexism.

Yang had told Shaozu this story at the party where Ayumi was revealed to be the Avatar, right before he went to talk to his sister. He had already heard someone call him it though, so the thought had already crossed his mind: the Avatar had to be separate from all governments.

Crowned Prince Shaozu. He wasn't ready.

His father wasn't very old. He still had time to learn all the lessons that had been reserved for Ayumi only. It was believed that this way, more people were likely to accept the next Fire Lord instead of trying to get a less knowledgeable sibling on the throne. And now he might have that exact problem on his hands. He had to cram years of learning incase his father fell ill or died… and now his sister had forced him to come with her!

Shaozu couldn't learn earthbending. He was sure Ayumi and Mei Ling would have lots of fun throwing rocks together—and he could have his own fun trying to get the obvious lovebirds _together_ together—but what good was he doing his sister here?! Moral support or something?!

'_Ugh. I need to go shoot a few.'_

He got up, grabbed his quiver form the side of the bed, and started walking through the house. Surely he could find something to use as targets, and then he could go outside and practice. After a few minutes searching, instead of finding some targets, he found a girl.

When he slid the door open, he was expecting to find another room with a tempting but obviously untouchable bunch of vases and paintings and other collectables. Instead, he stumbled upon the sleeping form of a young girl.

The first thing that struck Shaozu was how tan she was. Her skin was much darker than anyone he had ever seen in the Fire Nation, so he immediately recognized her origins, even without looking at her clothes or her neck.

The girl wore a teal short-sleeved shirt with pistachio lining around the borders, and a blue sash tied around her waist. He guessed what was under that was a white tank top. Navy tights and black flats completed the outfit. What stood out second-most about her was her seaweed green hair scrunchy around brown hair.

That is, until she opened her sleepy eyes. A very pure and bright and sharp color of blue met his amber-colored ones, and for a second, so warm it made him think of the crystal clear water of a tropical beach. Then, they became icy-cold as she glared at him, not a hint of fear allowing itself to surface. A glass of water shook on the bedside table as its water rose to protect the bender. Shaozu moved at hand to the quiver on his back out of reflex.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Shaozu finally breathed out—wait, he had been holding his breath?—and took a step back.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know anyone was in here. I should have knocked. My apologizes."

He quickly bowed at the waist before turning around and stepping out.

"Wait!"

He whipped around so fast, strangely happy that she had called out for him.

"Yes?"

"Who are you?"

There were many ways he could—and surely would, in the future—introduce himself. The Crowned Prince of the Fire Nation. The twin brother of the Avatar. A member of the Yuyan Archers.

"My name is Shaozu. And yourself?"

"I am Elska, princess of the Northern Water Tribe."

"Royalty, eh? I'm a royal myself, you know."

'Ok, that came out way more bratty than I intended.'

"I mean—I'm the Crowned Prince of the Fire Nation. It's very nice to meet you."

Shaozu rummaged through his pockets, and Elska watched with cautious curiosity, the whip of water still in front of her, though slightly lowered. She examined the boy, head to toe. Pale skin. Short black hair. Golden eyes. A pointed, hairless chin. A red sleeve-less vest with gold lining, the collar popped and covering almost all of his short neck. A dark red, long sleeved undershirt, also with gold lining. Black pants, black shoes. He definitely dressed like nobility, on a very casual day.

Out of his pocket he drew a colorful plastic bag out of his pocket and opened it. He thrusted it towards her, a bit too quickly, startling her.

"Sorry. I just thought I should offer you something. These are fire gummies."

Elska slowly got to her feet, retuning the water to the glass with one fluid motion of her arm. She reached into the bag and pulled out a small white cake. It was a small round glutinous rice cake stuffed with sweetened fire bean paste. A little bit of fire-salt sprinkled on top and, as she discovered upon taking a tiny bite to taste—after Shaozu ate one in its entirety—extremely spicy.

Elska lunged towards the glass of water, gulping it all down. When she exclaimed that it wasn't enough, Shaozu grabbed her by the hands and they ran. Shaozu led her to the kitchen, which they found by an amazing stroke of luck, and Shaozu threw the fridge open as Elska put her mouth under the faucet and turned the water on. Shaozu grabbed the gallon of milk and looked for and quickly found a pot. He poured the milk in and put the heat at its highest. Soon, he poured the milk out into a glass. He pulled Elska to her full height by the shoulder, and moved the glass towards her lips. Stunned, she grabbed the glass and gulped down the warm milk anyway. After finishing the tall glass, she sighed contently and wiped her mouth.

"Thanks. That worked a lot better than the water."

"Warm milk's the best. I'm not a fan of plain white milk myself, but—"

"And what the Spirits was that!"

Skazu was caught completely off guard when Elska suddenly lunged at him and grabbed him by his collar with both hands. The icy glare was back.

"I-I… I don't understand—"

"The spicy!"

"I'm-I'm sorry! I didn't think—"

"Of course you didn't!"

Elska let go of him and he stumbled backwards. Her hands on her hips, she glared at him again, a small pout making her look almost comical to Shaozu.

"I know now you're from the Fire Nation, for sure. If the clothes hadn't given it away, the spicy food sure has."

Shaozu bowed again, a look of extreme guilt on his face that cause Elska's glare to soften slightly.

"A thousand apologize, princess. I meant no harm. I extended in food in friendship. I… I was just looking for targets to practice my shooting with, anyway. I'll leave you be now."

He bowed one last time before turned around and heading out of the kitchen and into the hall.

'_Idiot!'_ was all he could think. He was way too embarrassed to think too much about it. He wanted the awful feeling to just go away, so he did his best to clear his mind. He found himself outside, behind the house, within a few minutes.


	7. Episode 7: How to Shoot an Arrow

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I apologize for my absence. I've been very busy and I have been without wi-fi for a long time. But, it seems to be back.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the first chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 7: How to Shoot an Arrow

* * *

Shaozu had thought it impossible for him to get tired of shooting, but after a solid week of doing almost only that, it had gotten old.

Shaozu stood perpendicular to the target—your typical, colorful ten-ring target—and the shooting line. Because he was right eye dominant, he held the bow with his left hand, pointed his left shoulder to the target, and handled the arrow and string with his right hand. He pointed the bow towards the ground and placed the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest. Then, he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string with the nock. He oriented the arrow so that a single vane was pointing away from the bow. He placed the arrow between the two nock locators. A breeze blew, and he was reminded of how uncomfortable his face paint could be.

He practically lived in his Yuyan Archers uniform, and today he had chosen to sit for half an hour in front of the mirror to practice his face painting skills. The Yuyan Archers bear dark red tattoos that run as a strip across their eyes and narrow over the bridge of their nose, seeming almost like a superhero mask to Shaozu. The placement of their tattoos symbolizes the importance of sight, and taking good care of it. Similar to those of master airbenders, the tattoos of the Yuyan Archers identify them as part of an elite group. And like the Kyoshi Warriors, Shaozu was supposed to paint his distinctions every time he went into battle or even practice for a few minutes.

Shaozu used three fingers to lightly hold the arrow on the string. His index finger was held above the arrow and his middle and ring fingers below. He raised and drew his bow in one fluid motion. With repeated practice, he had learned that this involved perfect control of his movements, allowing him to concentrate fully on the target and not be distracted, not even by tiredness. Whenever holding the bow, it should be held in as relaxed a way as possible, without torque on the riser of the bow.

Trying to concentrate and clear his mind of all thoughts, Shaozu couldn't help but think he wasn't a big fan of having this label painful tattooed on his face for life. Being a Yuyan Archer wasn't the only or even most important part of his identity, so why would he plaster a big, permanent label on his face? The Yuyan Archers had allowed this to slide by only because he was the Crowned Prince and the son of the Fire Lord, but the others had been angry at him and constantly gave him the cold shoulder. When you joined their ranks, it was supposed to be because you wanted to be part of a brotherhood that joined them together in their deadly skill as a distinct group that was now forever part of the military.

He aimed carefully the first day of his practice in Gaoling, but now his hands moved automatically to where they needed to be to hit the middle of the target. He released the arrow by relaxing the fingers of his string hand. Once the arrow had left for its target, Shaozu moved his draw hand back and finished the shoulder rotation. He kept his bow hand steady until the arrow hit its target.

In the beginning of his training, he had been taught to watch his arrow as it flies. Now, he was so fast that it almost looked like the arrow had teleported instantaneously. When he learned to hunt down moving targets, he was taught to shoot three arrows before moving his concentration from shooting to seeing where his arrows landed. In group work, that was mostly the job of the leader, who decided when the group could stop shooting. His mentality had to be to concentrate on a place to shoot, let his arrow fly, and look for the next place to shoot, whether he missed or not.

Shaozu shot all six of his arrows, each one splitting the other in half as they all hit the exact center of the target. He remembered the rush he had felt the first time he hit the bull's eye, but now he yawned at the sight as he wondered what would be served for lunch. He turned around towards the door to go back into the mansion, and instead was greeted by Ayumi bursting through it, followed closely by Mei Ling in her full Lotus uniform. Behind the running girls walked out Zhèngzhì, closely followed by Elska, princess of the Northern Water Tribe and very sensitive to spicy food. She looked at him in surprise, and it took Shaozu a while to figure out that it probably had to do with his uniform and face paint.

Behind her was a very tired looking man in typical peasant Earth Kingdom robes and a pair of glasses, which Shaozu found odd for two reasons. One, they were in the Geming Republic. Everything to the south of the Fire Nation colonies and the Earth Kingdom was. The only thing connecting it to the Earth Kingdom was the Serpent's Pass, and it was nearly impossible to cross, since either side was so fiercely protected by the nations. Two, glasses were worn only by people who lived in the modern cities, inhabited by people who were at least middle class. The only group from the Earth Kingdom that he knew of that was in Geming Republic was…

"Oh great, you're dressed," said the older of the twins.

"Oh my Spirits, you're alive! I haven't seen you all week! What gives?"

"Well," Mei Ling quickly came to Ayumi's defense, "It's been only training from sunrise to sunset, with time only to eat and sleep."

"Now you have the chance to use your skills, and to see my newly acquired awesomeness at earthbending."

"Yeah, she's a real natural. Quickly learned bending forms that took me years to master," Mei Ling said. Shaozu noted the slight bitterness…and jealousy?... in her voice and face, saving that information for future questioning.

For now, he tried to dilute it with, "Well, she is the Avatar, after all."

"Which is exactly why I'm here."

Everyone turned to look at the man in green robes and glasses, who smiled shyly and blush lightly at the sudden attention.

"This," explained Zhèngzhì, "is Huanbao Renshi, leader of the group of environmentalists in the Foggy Swamp."

"Please, call me Huan. I came to plead with the Avatar for her assistance, and to apologize for my attire."

"Yeah, you never explained that last bit," Ayumi said.

"I am a citizen of the Geming Republic, and have long idolized Avatar Geming for his environmentalist efforts and support for legislation. If he were alive, he would be appalled at the sight of an army of men with chainsaws, ready to clear the entire swamp. They want to use the wood for lumber, and drain the swamp for land development. The swamp is inhabited by natives who have done their best to fight these men off with their unique plantbending, but we knew they needed our help. More than us, they need you, Avatar."

"This is a perfect opportunity," Ayumi continued, "because I can check out the situation for a while and help these people out, but also make my way to Omashu and talk to the president of the republic."

"Tyrant," Mei Ling corrected bluntly, "He's been in power for almost twenty years, and his part has been the only one on the ballot for almost as long. He's got control of the military and—"

"Yes, I get that," Ayumi quickly waved her away, "and standing around talking about it won't change a thing. We need to get going, if what Huan fears becomes true."

"There have been rumors picked up by our spies that the Republic's army is headed down to the Swamp, and they won't be on our side. That's why I'm wearing Earth Kingdom garb—if they lay so much as a finger on the Tree, or as soon as the rumor in confirm, we're switching out alliances."

"The Tree?" Ayumi asked. "Foggy Swamp" sounded like a place where there was a lot of plant life. Had the environmentalists arrives so late that all there was left was one tree?

"At the center of the swamp stands an enormous, ancient banyan-grove tree," Shaozu answered before Huan could. "The roots spread out over miles. The rest of the swamp grew by extending from the foundations of this tree."

"Over time," Huan continued, "it developed into one large, living, super organism. The Foggy Swamp Tribe—as the natives call themselves—bases its philosophy on this phenomenon. They believe that, like the tree, all people of the world, no matter how different, retain the same roots and are branches of the same tree. In other words, we are all connected."

Shaozu frowned. He had never seen Huan before in his life, and after this was resolved, he would probably never see him again. How were Huan and himself connected? And how was he connected to all the people of the world he had never meet, would never meet, and whose existence would never affect him?

"Sounds like a bunch of Avatar stuff, for sure," Shaozu said, and it seemed to him that Huan frowned as if his mother had just been insulted.

"Well, anyways, the point of coming here was to tell you to pack your stuff and be ready to leave soon. Officially, we're headed to Omashu, but first we're making a stop at the Foggy Swamp. Oh, and there's some kind of tunnel of cave or something that Zhèngzhì mentioned."

"Ah, yes," Zhèngzhì spoke up for the first time, and Shaozu had almost forgotten he was there. Next to him stood Elska, who seemed conflicted between smiling and glaring at him, "The Cave of Two Lovers. Badgermoles are believed to be found only there in the wild, but no one has been there since Avatar Aang and his companions did.

Ayumi hadn't really been one for history, but Shaozu gobbled up everything he could. He had read Avatar Aang's personal writings on the place, and he suddenly felt his cheeks grow warm as he looked back at Elska.

"Is Elska coming with us?"

"Oh, I wasn't aware that you two had become acquainted," Zhèngzhì said, though Shaouzu wasn't sure that was the right way to word it, "Yes, my niece will be accompanying us. We'll be traveling by boat, and it's always good to bring a master waterbender with you on such trips. This is going to be a very secretive trip, as we'd like to have the element of surprise on our side when we arrive at the Foggy Swamp. Therefore, we'll be taking the small boat Huan came on. Just his crew and our group."

"Team Avatar," Mei Ling beamed, and Ayumi smiled and blushed.

'_God, those two couldn't be any more obvious. Anyone can see it, except those two. I guess it's a good thing. Ayumi's betrothed, and even if she wasn't, homosexuals… She's my twin. I love her no matter what. But not everyone thinks that way.'_

Shaozu smiled at Elska as Ayumi continued talking about the specifics of their plans, and he thought of the Cave of Two lovers again.

'_Actually, the sooner they get it out of their systems, the sooner Ayumi and Mei Ling can start getting accustomed to their reality, and agree to be just close friends. So maybe… I can play Cupid.'_

Shaozu sighed as he followed everyone else back into Zhèngzhì's house. Shaozu didn't notice that Elska had been waiting to enter with him until she was right next to him and speaking to him.

"Hey, Shaozu… Cool bow and arrows. I saw that target with all the arrows on the bull's eye. That's… pretty… awesome."

She mentally slapped herself as she ran the words through her mind again and realized how stupid she sounded. Luckily, Shaozu gave her a goofy smile and barely avoided a blush.

"Uh… thanks… princess."

* * *

**A/N: **Some of you may have already noticed, but for those of you who didn't, here's a little trivia. The name of this episode/chapter is "How to Shoot an Arrow". This is in part due to the fact that I used wikihow's article by the same name to help me write this. It is also because Shaozu refers to himself as "Cupid" and begins to formulate his plan here.


	8. Episode 8: Knock on Wood

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I apologize for my absence. I've been very busy and I have been without wi-fi for a long time. But, it seems to be back. So, two updates in two days.

**A Wild Clover:** How very kind of you to say! And I never thought of Shaozu and Elska that way, but I see what you mean. And, yeah, whenever I think of Ayumi and Mei Ling, I think of how sickeningly sweet Aang and Katara are in The Promise. And I really wanted Ayumi to play her part as protector of the world environmentally, kinda like Aang and the burned-down forest and the Hei Bai spirit.

I will remind you all that for anyone who might be interested, I am liapaiva2009 on photobucket. There are pictures label with the characters' names under the folder Avatar. I'll do my best to describe their appearances, but actual images never hurt. Especially Geming. He's hard to describe. You might also get a peek at some future characters, though not all will be there, and not all present will be in this fanfic. Pictures are not in order of appearance, so you should look at all of the newest ones of people.

Has anyone actually looked at those?

As always, thank you for your interest, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and without further ado, here is the first chapter of The Reluctant Heroine, aka The Legend of Ayumi.

* * *

Book 1: Earth

Episode 8: Knock on Wood

* * *

Ayumi hadn't really been looking forward to responsibilities as the Avatar, but she had to admit, the Avatar Day festival at Chin Village was a very, very nice experience.

As soon as she arrived, she was showered with love and admiration, and it was all thanks to Avatar Aang for clearing up all the confusion with Avatar Kyoshi. Vendors always made un-fried dough in the shape of Aang, to remind everyone of how on the day Aang was in the village he was not boiled in oil. They also made ones in the shape of Avatar Korra's and Geming's heads, and soon they were asking Ayumi to pose for her own. A man with a Polaroid instant camera sold her a bunch of pictures of herself, and she signed them and gave them out to people who ran up to her with scraps of paper.

Just like Gaoling, this small village had barely advanced in technology from Avatar Aang's day, and it was mostly the more wealthy citizens that had things that Avatar Korra had seen in Republic City for the first time. Like many other places in the Republic, however, telegraph wires ran through the village and beyond, and those who could read Geming code using their metalbending were also the more educated and wealthy. After the festivities, Ayumi posed for several full-body pictures and a painting so that a large wooden statue of her could be built of her. The mayor was prepared to spend several days teaching Ayumi how to use Geming code, but she picked it up very quickly and was soon struggling to teach Mei Ling.

They stayed overnight and left soon after sunrise, which broke Ayumi's heart. Shaozu and Mei Ling were grateful to say goodbye to the adoring crowds and Ayumi's bigheadedness around them. Huan was glad to be rid of the glares he and Zhèngzhì got from the inhabitants, who fiddled with their gray robes at the sight of the two's green ones. Zhèngzhì took Ayumi aside and reminded her that she should channel the feelings she got from the crowd in a productive way.

"Those smiling faces will be spread to the majority of the world when you help to heal it, and restore the balance that has been lost."

Later, in bed, Ayumi tried to meditate on this new teaching from him, but she couldn't help doubting his words.

'_Restore balance to the world… That's what Aang was doing when he kept Fire Lord Ozai from taking over the world. And then he thought he was doing that with the Harmony Restoration Project and keeping the four nations separate. But he created a fifth nation instead, so that anyone who wanted to live together with benders of other elements, could do so. As long as the original four nations exist, why can't a few more exist as well? I mean, the Geming Republic is just protecting itself. And even without the lands to the south, the Earth Kingdom is still pretty big. Most of the citizens here seem to like their republic. If the people in the Fire Nation colonies are mostly happy as well, all I'd have to do is save the Foggy Swamp and convince the Earth Kingdom to leave the Geming Republic alone. Maybe topple a tyrant and create a real democracy here. Why does the answer have to be to restore the world to how it was during Aang's and Korra's time? Aang didn't keep the world the way it was when he was born, and it had been that way for so long… It's scary to think that as the Avatar, it's my job to decide what the world should be like… I'm just sixteen…'_

The swamp skiffs sped through the Foggy Swamp, which made Ayumi a bit nervous. As a Fire Bender, being surrounded by water and lots of flammable trees and other plants wasn't the best for her. She tried her best to concentrate on her immediate surroundings. The swamp skiffs were small, canoe-like crafts that the tribesmen used to travel around the swamp. They were propelled using waterbending, which utilized a lot of outstretched-arm movement, she noted. Guiding them were men who sat at the back of the boat, using long poles that kept them from hitting obstacles in the water. Mei Ling and Zhèngzhì sat in one large boat with Ayumi, and Huan, Shaozu and Elska sat in another one. Small boats carried two tribesmen each. Their leaf-hats and lack of pants made Ayumi uncomfortable as well.

Every time the boat made a turn or rocked a degree more than usual, Ayumi's right hand would reach out and grip Mei Ling's left arm tightly. Mei Ling would make a fist to help her keep her arm steady for Ayumi until the young Avatar let go. The gritted teeth and shade of green of Ayumi's face let her know the girl was too busy being terrified to notice the constant contact made Mei Ling smile and blush. Spirits, she was blushing a lot. When did Ayumi go from being a friend to something more? Mei Ling couldn't seem to pinpoint an exact moment.

The tribesmen brought the group to the other side of the swamp, and after walking through a guarded passage carved out of the mountains that surround the swamp on nearly all sides, they arrived at a camp filled with men from a lumber company. Most of them wore black jeans and no shirts, as the area was pretty warm, but some of them wore grey t-shirts. Again, Zhèngzhì and his green robes were glared at fiercely, though Huan received much uglier looks. Inside a very large tent was the temporary center of the operation. Before they could enter, Huan ran just ahead of the group and stopped them all.

"I... ugh... I can't go in there with you guys. But I'm afraid to stay out here alone."

Zhèngzhì simply nodded, and Shaozu deduced he knew something the rest of them didn't.

"Elska and I will stay out with you."

Ayumi and Mei Ling glanced at each other and shared shrugs. Ayumi took the lead, and her twin and friend followed.

The inside was very peculiar looking. The green tent covered a metal floor, metal walls on either side, and a metal wall behind the man at his desk. A rectangular hole in the back wall led to a bedroom. The man had meticulously gelled hair with a few hairs out of place due to the humidity. His neatly trimmed moustache sat under a slightly crooked nose and dark eyes. His suit clung to his body from perspiration and his grey tie had been loosened. He looked up annoyed before looking around at the group, startled. He didn't stand or bow his head.

"What are the children of the Fire Lord doing here? And a member of the White Lotus?"

"I am Avatar Ayumi. I came here hoping to negotiate."

"Avatar...? Who brought you here? Did my son run to you begging for help?"

"Your son?" Shaozu asked.

"Yes. My son, Huan."

"He's your son?!" Mei Ling asked, looking behind her, but the tent allowed her to see neither the shadows nor the forms of her companions.

"You came here not even knowing the name of my company, or my name? I am Lee Rénshì, and I own the Rénshì Lumber Company. My son turned on me one day, after being part of the scouting team. Apparently, he got separated from the group and met some natives who 'enlightened' him, or whatever."

"Well, I'm here to put a stop to this. You can't cut down the Foggy Swamp, or drain it."

"I'm not here to drain the swamp, and I'm not here to chop down every tree. Also, those aren't negotiating words. They're orders."

Mr. Rénshì knocked on his desk.

"See? Wood. We have a lot things to make out it, including desks, but also things as basic as toilet paper. I'm sure a civilized princess like yourself understands the necessity for such things. Not everyone is willing to live like savages."

Ayumi opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to say. He was making a lot of sense.

"Aren't there other trees to cut down?" Shaozu asked.

"Why is it any better to cut down any of those?"

Again, Ayumi didn't have a response.

"So many people live in the swamp," Mei Ling tried.

"So many? There's just one village's worth. And it would do them well to join the rest of society."

Ayumi looked to either side of her, hoping Shaozu or Mei Ling would have something else to say, but they were silent.

"I am a very busy man," Mr. Rénshì gestured at the papers on his desk, "I would appreciate it if you could leave me to it."

Ayumi didn't hesitate in leading the group out. Huan ran up to them, a look of pure anticipation on his face.

"What did he say?"

"Why didn't you tell us he was your father?!"

Everyone was taken aback by the anger in Ayumi voice, and she glared as she looked around defensively before sighing.

"I'm sorry, I just... I can't help you, ok? I think he's right. Who am I to impede progress? We should shift out focus to getting the tribe out of the swamp."

"But didn't you notice, Ayumi? First he said he wouldn't cut down the whole swamp, then he said the tribe should join the rest of society. Doesn't that sound like he lied? He wouldn't want them to leave the swamp if there was gonna be some left for them to live in." Shaozu asked.

"Good observation." Zhèngzhì said, and Shaozu beamed.

"Ok, but that still doesn't counter his other arguments. Like, what's the difference between cutting down the Foggy Swamp and cutting down other forests?"

"I told you, the swamp is one big, living organism! It's one tree that took root and spread out for miles. And, again, it's a living organism!"

"Scientifically speaking, yeah, sure, all plants are." Shaozu responded.

"No, no! You don't understand. The swamp... it's special. You need to see it for yourselves. You need to travel to the center of the swamp, and then you'll see."

"Your father told us you reached 'enlightenment', or something."

"Yes. Under the Tree. You all need to experience it for yourselves. Especially you, Avatar. But I have to warn you; in the swamp, you might encounter visions of people you've lost, people you've loved, people you think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them. Time is an illusion, as is death."

The children, except Shaozu, simply stared at him. Had they made a mistake in listening to this guy? The younger twin remembered Aang's writings on the swamp, and he wished he had the scroll with him, or at least his geography book. But what Huan said sounded familiar.

"Children, I'll stay here with Huan," Zhèngzhì said, "The rest of you should go."

"We'll get lost," Mei Ling said.

"No, we won't," Shaozu said, "I remember that from Aang's writings. Somehow, the swamp seemed to lead them all to the center, even when they got separated."

"Well, if Avatar Aang said so..." Elska began slowly, "Then I'm willing to go."

"I'm always up for an adventure!" Ayumi said, trying to ignore the fact that they were going into a place with highly-flammable plants and flame-dousing, waist-deep water.

"I guess it's settled, then," Mei Ling said, "We're going into the Foggy Swamp."


End file.
